Fourth period began the arduous process of writing a sonnet. Our topic was the difficulty of writing a sonnet. The pre-writing paraphrase was the following:

• I don’t want to write a sonnet: it’s too hard
• Why is it so hard?
• So much to worry about:
  • Rhyme
  • Meter: Iambic pentameter
  • Problem/solution
• Kind of like juggling chain saws – one mis-step and it’s no longer a sonnet
• What’s stressed and unstressed?
• Solution: don’t write one. Oops, too late

The first lines of our sonnet were as follows:

My teacher really wants to stress me out.
He says it’s time to show our writing skills.
It is like fishing for a stubborn trout.

To close the lesson, everyone worked with a partner to write the final line of the first quatrain.

First, second, and sixth periods continued working on their persuasion projects. We’ll probably be finishing those up next week.

Homework

• First, second, and sixth periods: continue planning project.
• Fourth period: write the second quatrain of the sonnet.